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Chris Marshall (US President)
Chris W. Marshall is the forty-fourth President of the United States of America. He is a retired US Marine Corps Officer, who rose to the rank of General, and the post of Deputy Commandand Aviation of the US Marine Corps. He has also been an author, commentator, and academic. =Early Life= Chris Marshall was born in Tampico, Illinois the son of a school teacher, and a fireman. He had a military interest from an early age, but during his childhood was regarded as a tear-away. He fought often, and was in constant trouble with his teachers, though he achieved well in school. His parents eventually tired of his antics, and as his father frequently threatened, he was sent to Military school. At the age of fourteen in 1959, Chris Marshall was enrolled in the Illinois Military School . The Illinois Military School seemed to provide the environment Marshall needed to flourish. He became an ambitious cadet officer, and was on a fast track to the US Naval Academy. He graduated a Midshipman Lieutenant and was a Linebacker in the Air Force Falcons (in Vietnam he served in Operation Linebacker!). =Military Service= After graduation from the USNA in 1967, Marshall was selected for Pilot Training. After Initial Flight Screening, he went to the "Cradle of Naval Aviation", NAS Pensacola, Florida to do classroom instruction in preparation for flying training at NAS Corpus Christi on the T-34C, and advanced training on the T-2 at NAS Kingsville. He was then assigned to Advanced Strike training where he became acquainted with the A-4 Skyhawk. After this introduction to the A-4, Marshall went to Vietnam in 1969. He flew from Da Nang to support the Marine ground units operating near Da Nang. His first tour was highly successful, and he went back to the US to learn to fly the F-4 Phantom II. After a stint with the fleet, Marshall returned to Vietnam. This time to USS Constellation with VMFA-232 to provide close support for Marine ground troops as well as support Navy Linebacker operations. After his second tour in Vietnam, Marshall was promoted to Captain and became a Flight Leader. Within two years of returning from Vietnam, Marshall had returned to attack flying with the new AV-8A Harrier. =Republican split, and Presidential Campaign= Marshall did not contemplate a political career at first. He was financially secure, with his pension, investments, payments from media spots, and lecturing at Harvard, as well as a large inheritance from his wife's parents. Marshall and his wife were easily worth over $30 million. His fight with the Bush Administration would increase sales of his memoirs. Marshall also tired of Washington life. Marshall's memoirs were published in 2003 under the title "From the Mekong to the Potomac: An Autobiography of General Chris W. Marshall" Within the Republican Party, dissatisfaction with Bush mounted, compassionate conservatism was alienating the traditional and classically liberal wing of the Party, the Administration's 'bomb and occupy' war policy was facing reality, and losing on the ground, the economy was sliding into recession. Marshall had become popular with the public due to his media appearances, combat record, as well as his visits to Walter Reed to comfort wounded soldiers. Many politicians asked him for military advice. By the end of 2003, rumours of a Marshall Presidential bid spread all over Washington, and Boston. Marshall was known to hold minarchist economic views, and hawkish foreign policy views, what some had taken to calling "Libertarian-Conservatism". As the US slid into recession, and as the Taliban retook a major Afghan city, Marshall decided to put his hat into the ring, and run for the Republican nomination against a sitting President, George W. Bush. He attracted a collection traditional conservatives, classical liberals, and hawks tired of a 'war on the cheap'. He had to compromise some of his more radical policies, especially those involving farm subsidies, tariffs, and other trade laws. He scraped by in the Primaries, but George Bush decided to run anyway, and had enough cash to run in all states. The United States would be in its first (and only) three party election, with Marshall for the Republicans, Bush as an Independent (running as President George W. Bush), and John F. Kerry for the Democrats. Marshall won 45% of the popular vote, Kerry won 35%, and Bush won 19%. Unfortunately for Marshall, he did not win enough electoral votes, but the House of Representatives, being Republican-controlled, and tired of Bush elected Marshall with a two-thirds majority. =Presidency= Key measures of the Marshall Presidency: *2005 **Replacement of most light infantry in Afghanistan with Medium units, leads to immediate drop in casualties, and increase in terrorists killed/captured. **Beginning of Social Security Replacement, multiple tiered system with either return of payroll tax for private investment/spending, or Personal Retirement Accounts in Social Security. No new members of the Social Security System. Current recipients to be paid out of General Revenue. **Military Commissions sentence first terrorist to death *2006 **First execution of convicted terrorist **Removal of most farm subsidies **Removal of most trade barriers **Major cuts to company tax rate **Department of Homeland Security abolished, functions returned to existing departments (Defense, Transportation, Justice, Treasury) *2007 **Removal of remaining trade barriers except arms, and WMD-technology (licensing required for export/import) **Marijuana legalisation, possession crime acts repealed, state governments go their own way on marijuana laws. Hard drug laws remain the same **Removal of most industrial subsidies **Income tax cuts **National Gun Freedom Act, removal of almost all federal restrictions on small arms, except for automatic weapons **Budget balanced **PATRIOT Act repealed *2008 **National Second Amendment Support Act, removal of final restrictions except for destructive devices, and felons, open and concealed carriage allowed, state governments muscled into compliance **Interstate Commerce Commission abolished **FDA reformed to focus on safety only **Balanced Budget Amendment proposed, Congress required to keep budget in balance, or to have at most 10% surplus except in time of declared war, and national emergency. Emergency/War Bonds to be sold in those instances. Marshall has been criticised by State Rights' Advocates for the way he deals with the states on matters including Gun Control, and Drugs. Marshall has threatened the closure of military bases, the movement of other Federal Government jobs, and the changing of government procurement to favour compliant states. The tone of the Marshall Presidency's first term changed after the 2006 Mid-Term Elections. The change was due to the election of a group of classical Liberals, from both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. They increased the pace of reform. =2008 Campaign= The US economy picked up after the Bush recession. Marshall's measures are widely reported to have made the US economy grow faster than ever before. Inspite of taking on the "Big Security" bureaucracy, the US has seen its security from terrorism improve without a real reduction in liberty. The US budget is balanced, and looks to remain that way for the forseeable future. While the US has taken some foreign policy hits, none have really challenged the position of the United States, nor has its prestige been geniunely challenged. In this envrionment of good security, good economic position, and good foreign policy positon, Marshall is running for reelection against Senator Hillary Clinton (Democrat-Manhattan). Among his policy proposals are: *Withdrawal from the United Nations *Abolition of the Department of Education *Banking reform, to full reserve banking *A gold-based currency, possibly pan-American *A renewed military buildup *Additional missile defence spending *Intelligence reform, splitting the CIA's functions into existing and new agencies *Abolition of the ATF *Ending of most foreign aid (excepting military assistance to certain allies, and a capacity for natural disaster relief e.g. the 2004 Tsunami) *Continued trade, industrial, and agricultural reform including the removal of the last tariffs and subsidies. The US would restrict trade for geopolitical or national security reasons only. Trade restrictions with the Soviet Union remain in force. *Withdrawal of the United States from the IMF, World Bank, and BIS Marshall was tipped to win easily in 2008, and defeated Democratic candidate Barack Obama in a landslide vote. Most commentators cite the lack of detailed policies in the Obama campaign, the massive tax increases proposed by Obama, good economic performance, and the progress made in the War on Terror. =Second Term - 2009-2013= Marshall's first term, while providing a swathe of reforms to the United States' political and governmental structure, they did not go far enough for the President, or his close circle of Right-Wing Libertarians. The reason was that Marshall has to compromise a lot to get enough Republicans on his side to defeat George W. Bush for the nomination in 2004. Accoding to Michelle Malkin "The Republicans need Marshall more than Marshall needs the Republicans". =Post-Presidency Speculation= Marshall will retire from the Presidency in 2013 at the age of 67. It is likely that he will retire into private life. =Ranks= *1963 - Midshipman, United States Naval Academy *1967 - Second Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps *1970 - First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps *1973 - Captain, United States Marine Corps *1977 - Major, United States Marine Corps *1981 - Lieutenant Colonel, United States Marine Corps *1986 - Colonel, United States Marine Corps *1990 - Brigadier General, United States Marine Corps *1993 - Major General, United States Marine Corps *1997 - Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps =Trivia= *Marshall is the only US Marin Corps officer to become President. *Marshall is the second US President to be a lecturer, and broadcaster, and the only one to be both. *Marshall is the only President to have previously been the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force *Marshall has been the target of three assassination attempts (though he once said "I've probably had one hundred thousand bullets and missiles fired at me, with only one hit." *Marshall is the only US President to have won the Purple Heart, and the first Vietnam Veteran to be elected. *First Lady Clara Marshall is the second First Lady to be born outside the United States. =Aircraft Flown= *Operational **T-34C Turbo Mentor **T-2 Buckeye **A-4 Skyhawk **F-4B Phantom II **F-4J Phantom II **AV-8A Harrier **F/A-18 Hornet **F-5E Tiger II **AV-8B Harrier II =Medal Rack= Marshall, Chris W.